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The Howl-O-Ween Costume Benefit will happen in the Watsonville Civic Plaza Banquet Room from 7 p.m. to midnight, and all proceeds will be given to the Watsonville Police Department for a new K-9 dog.

The party will have a raffle, and lucky winners will choose from an array of prizes, including: a Glock gun, .22-caliber rifle, handgun, and Taser.

Some residents said giving away guns as prizes is inappropriate in light of a double homicide that left a 4-year-old girl shot to death just last weekend in Watsonville.

Jaelyn Zavala had been playing inside a restaurant's back office when she was caught in crossfire. Police said she was killed by a suspected Salinas Norteno gang member who was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Her suspected killer, 31-year-old Michael Angelo Escobar, was fighting with 33-year-old Ramon Rendon during a melee involving several people outside a motel, detectives said. Rendon was also shot to death, and Escobar was charged with two counts of murder.

The young girl's senseless death shook the community of Watsonville and underscored the town's gang problem. A town hall meeting for peace was organized at E.A. Hall Middle School Wednesday night.

Most residents who KSBW interviewed on Wednesday afternoon opposed the gun raffle.

Linda Bartlett said she would have donated to the fundraiser, but not if police raffle off firearms.

"It seems ludicrous. We just had a double homicide in Watsonville," Bartlett said.

Dean Coley said, "Wow! I think that's crazy, I am surprised. Why do we want more firearms and more Tasers out on the street? I don't see why they would choose something like that. It seems inappropriate to me. What about Giants tickets?"

To attend the party, you must buy a $50 ticket and be at least 21 years old, since alcohol will be served. To win the guns, you must pass a background check, wait the required waiting period, and complete gun registration forms required by state and federal law.

The party is being organized by the Watsonville Police Assistance Fund, which is a nonprofit group.

Police Chief Manny Solano explained that the party's crowd would be "police-friendly."

"This is a charity event put on by a nonprofit made up of mostly community members. The idea is to raise funds for a police K-9 team. The department lacks funds for this vital crime fighting team that costs $20,000. Keep in mind this will be a police friendly/supportive crowd with folks who are trained in firearm safety," Solano said.

Watsonville Police Department's current K-9, a German Shepard named Ellix, has been doing the workload of two dogs, WPAF said.

How many gangsters would feel inspired to attend a party where the dance floor is packed with police officers? Probably not many.

Cory Stephanson, president of the Watsonville Police Assistance Fund, said the community should feel assured that guns given away will not end up in the wrong hands.

"A majority of the attendees will either be law enforcement or closely knit within the law enforcement community. As a federally-licensed firearms dealer myself, I fully appreciate the intricacies of offering firearms or other tactical goods as raffle items," Stephanson told KSBW.